SB Nation - Jason Baker

Panther Paw Prints - Dolphins Loss Edition

Jaxon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:12:43 -0000

by Chuck Burton - AP

about 1 month ago: Miami Dolphins' Tyrone Culver (29) knocks down a desperation pass in the end zone as Carolina Panthers' Dwayne Jarrett (80) reaches in vain at the end of the Dolphins' 24-17 win in an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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This edition of Paw Prints has the sour taste of a loss all over it. Let's take our medicine Panther fans.

Key Moments - CharlotteObserver.com
Facing third-and-goal from the Miami 7, the Panthers fail to convert a third consecutive pass play, leading to a field goal. Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter beats left tackle Travelle Wharton to sack Jake Delhomme, who's previous two passes from the 7 were incomplete.

This is the series causing all the heat on OC Jeff Davison. 1st and goal and we attempt to throw the ball three times? He will be hearing abouth this one for a while. My second biggest concern from this loss was the continued poort play from our kick coverage, which gets an unearned 'C' grade from the Observor.

Panthers Report Card - CharlotteObserver.com
SPECIAL TEAMS Grade: C Comment: Miami's superb kickoff returner Ted Ginn Jr. had a big day against a Carolina kickoff unit that has struggled much of the season. Ginn had returns of 37 and 48 yards. Panthers punt returner Captain Munnerlyn let a punt go without a fair catch that wound up costing the Panthers quite a few yards. Punter Jason Baker appeared to shank a low punt near the end of the first half. It went only 34 yards and resulted in a 22-yard return. Baker bounced back and later had a punt downed at the 7. Carolina rookie Tyrell Sutton looked sharp as a kickoff returner. He had returns of 31 andd 29 yards.

Munnerlyn has let too many balls hit the ground this year resulting lost yardage; another issue I blame on coaching.

The players lost to injury is being felt too.

Dolphins outplay both Panthers' lines - CharlotteObserver.com
On Porter's second sack, Wharton appeared to be interfered with by fullback Tony Fiammetta. Wharton angrily stalked off the field after the play. "Early on, we were a bit of a new offensive line in there," said Panthers coach John Fox. "Once, we got picked off by our running back, our left tackle (Wharton) did. "But we settled down and our protection got a little better as the game wore on. Unfortunately, we came up a little short."

From the land of the obvious here's another one:

Delhomme, Smith not the same duo - CharlotteObserver.com
Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith were once one of the NFL's telepathic quarterback-wide receiver duos, seemingly able to read each others' minds on the fly. That ability comes and goes nowadays, like a cell phone call with inconsistent reception.

Inconsistent reception? More like the call was never completed period... Scott found five things from this loss he didn't like...only five?

Scott Says ...: 5 things I didn't like in loss to Miami
. Defensive pressure and tackling. The Panthers’ defense gave up three touchdowns to Ricky Williams, who is a good back, yes. But he’s also 32 years old and wasn’t good enough to start in Miami until Ronnie Brown got hurt. Yet Williams was nearly unstoppable and broke off a 46-yard run that was the play of the game with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter. Plus, Carolina never sacked Chad Henne.

Fox speaks:

Playoff hopes dashed for Carolina Panthers? - CharlotteObserver.com
"I think there's a lot of fight in that room," he said, speaking of his players in the locker room. "There's still a lot of football left to be played and we're in no way or stretch out of it." But there's no doubt this one hurt the Panthers deeply. "Those guys fought hard," said Fox. "I'm disappointed for them."

Mathmatically we are still in it sure, but just like going 0-4 int he preseason, 4-6 doesn't give us much confidence they can pull it off.

Tom Talks: Marriage proposal at BofA Stadium? - CharlotteObserver.com
Third-and-1 from the Carolina 41 and the Panthers go deep to Steve Smith? What are they thinking? They're thinking that Smith will get single coverage from rookie cornerback Sean Smith. Both Smiths played at Utah. Jake Delhomme throws a nice pass and Steve Smith reaches for the ball and gets his fingers on it and - the ball falls incomplete. Sometimes a good call fails. It fails here.

2nd and 1 sure, give it a shot. 3rd and 1 on your own 40 run the ball and get the 1st down. Dumb....So even the players most optimistic outlook is 8-8?

Third-downs fin-ish off Panthers in 24-17 loss
"This is the fourth time we could have been .500 and we didn't execute enough to get there," said Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams. "I think we play well under pressure, but we can't continue to do this. Eight and eight doesn't sound like it will get us into the playoffs." "Playoff talk is something that is not even brought up," added quarterback Jake Delhomme.

Where is he getting 4 more wins I wonder?

We got another week to shake off this funk and get up to NY to shoot down the Jets!

Cedric Benson misses out on AFC Offensive Player of the Week to Kyle Orton

Kirkendall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:39:33 -0000

While Cedric Benson is nominated for the weekly FedEx Ground Player of the Week (don't forget to vote by going here... a lot), Benson didn't win the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Sure, he was nominated. But Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton won the prize. Here's the story on Orton's performance during the Broncos win over the New England Patriots:

Orton completed 35 of 48 (72.9 percent) passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns versus one interception and a 96.7 passer rating in Denver’s 20-17 overtime win against New England.
Orton’s two touchdown passes came in drives that covered 98 and 90 yards.
He completed 6 of 10 passes for 76 yards on Denver’s 98-yard TD drive that tied the game at 17 with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Orton completed 4 of 6 passes for 31 yards and led Denver 58 yards on 11 plays to set up a game-winning field goal by kicker Matt Prater.
Orton helped Denver post a 5-0 record for the first time in 11 seasons (1998).
In his fifth year from Purdue, this is Orton’s first career Player of the Week Award. He joins Jay Cutler, John Elway, Brian Griese, Gary Kubiak and Jake Plummer, as the sixth Broncos QB to win the award.

Also nominated for AFC Offensive Player of the Week are:

Cincinnati running back Cedric Benson, who rushed for 120 yards (4.4 average) on 27 attempts with one touchdown in a 17-14 win over the Ravens.
Indianapolis rookie wide receiver Austin Collie, who totaled eight receptions for 97 yards (12.1 average) with two touchdowns in a 31-9 victory over Tennessee.
Miami quarterback Chad Henne, who completed 20 of 26 passes (76.9 percent) for 241 yards with two touchdowns versus zero interceptions and a 130.4 passer rating in a 31-27 win over the Jets.
Cleveland running back Jamal Lewis , who gained 117 yards (3.8 average) on 31 attempts.
Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning , who completed 36 of 44 passes (81.8 percent) for 309 yards with three touchdowns versus one interception and a 109.2 passer rating.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 23 of 30 passes (76.7 percent) for 277 yards with three touchdowns versus one interception and a 123.9 passer rating.

In case you're interested, James Harrison won AFC Player of the Week and punter Dave Zastudil won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. If you're interested even more, then:

NFC Offensive Player of the Week: WR Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
NFC Defensive Player of the Week: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals
NFC Special Teams Player of the Week: P Jason Baker, Carolina Panthers

Cardinals vs. Panthers Playoff Match-up: Keys to the Game

Jaxon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:56:45 -0000

At this point in the season there just isn't much new to talk about when it coming to game planning and key match-ups. Every game it's pretty much the same for the Panthers: run the ball, throw the ball to Smitty, avoid turnovers on offense, create turnovers on defense. Here's a look at what I think will or could affect the outcome of the game

The Steve Smith Factor - This is a no-brainer of course but Smitty's match-up may take a new twist. Cardinals CB Rod Hood has drawn the assignment of covering Smith the last two times these teams have met and in both games Smith had big games, including 117 yards and 2 TD's earlier this season. It's obvious that Hood cannot contain Smith so the Cardinals may decide to match-up their rookie phenom Dominique-Rodgers Cromartie (DRC) on him. DRC has a bright future ahead of him but I bet he learns a thing or two Saturday night if that's his draw. There will be a huge focus on the running game by the Cardinals making even more important that the Panthers not only get Smith involved but that he lives up to his ‘playmaker' moniker. Smitty scoring will be a big de-motivator for the Cardinal defense and should as always be a key focus of the Panther offense.

Home Crowd - The Charlotte wine-and-cheese crowd is slowly learning how to rumble during a NFL game and I bet this game sets a new precedent. If anyone attending this game can't get excited and make some noise get your pulse checked. If you have a pulse then take a flask of Expresso and a bull horn or something. The defense will need the crowd to make life as difficult as possible for the Cardinals offense to stay in synch. They are prone to penalties as well so that could be a factor from the noise.

Avoiding an early deficit - You might recall from the first game the Cardinals got out to a 10-0 lead after a Jake sack and fumble led to a Cardinals TD. The lead grew to 17-3 early in the 3^rd quarter before Panther heroics led to the come back and eventual win. Though the Panthers have shown a knack for overcoming early deficits this season we really don't need a repeat of that scenario. The Panthers first four possessions in that game resulted in 2 first downs, 3 punts and a fumble. That sucks. I think the problem was that the Panthers had decided to throw the ball more than run as they attempted 10 passes and only 5 runs (1 by Smith) on those first four drives. I think the Panthers should turn that around this time and run the ball first, pass second. If it can work against the Giants it should work against the Cardinals.

Field Position - In searching for additional statistical differences between these two teams beyond the obvious running vs. passing differences I see a big one in field position. Panthers kick-off specialist Rhys Lloyd leads the NFL in touchbacks and P Jason Baker has 30 punts inside the 20 yard line whereas Cardinals punters D Johnson/Ben Graham only had 20 combined. Graham is new to the team, an import from Australia who might not be used to such a hostile environment. If the Panthers can keep the Cardinals pinned back then that only helps the Panthers ‘bend-don't-break defense'.

Bad Weather - Cardinal fans seem to loathe bad weather as it must affect their ability to pass the ball. It makes sense but I doubt we will get much of a down pour this time of year. On the other hand the forecast is for rain (60% chance) so that can only help a run-oriented team against a pass-oriented one. So can someone please dial up a nasty squall to go along with the rain for Saturday night...please?

Panthers @ Saints: Defensive and Special Teams Scouting Report

Saintsational — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:00:06 -0000

Team Rankings

Team	Yds. / Game	Yds. / Play	Rush Yds. / Game	Rush Yds. / Play	Pass Yds. / Game	Pass Yds. / Play	Int. Rate	Sacks / Pass Att.	First Downs / Game	Punt Return Avg	Kickoff Return Avg	3rd Down Pct	4th Down Pct	Red Zone Pct	Goal to Go%	Pts. / Game	Pts. Differential / Game	Yard Diff. / Game
CAR	325.5	5.06	124.1	4.42	201.3	5.94	2.17%	6.89%	18.3	6.7	21.8	38.83%	42.11%	51.11%	80.00%	19.9	5.5	15.7
Rank	13	10	22	23	11	7	26	10	12t	7	9	15	8	15	25	8t	7	16

Rushing Defense

Left End

Left Tackle

Left Guard

Up the Middle

Right Guard

Right Tackle

Right End

Plays: 53

Plays: 46

Plays: 27

Plays: 152

Plays: 21

Plays: 40

Plays: 69

NFL Rank: 14

NFL Rank: 23

NFL Rank: 26

NFL Rank: 5

NFL Rank: 30

NFL Rank: 27

NFL Rank: 3

Avg Gain: 6.15

Avg Gain: 4.04

Avg Gain: 4.37

Avg Gain: 4.55

Avg Gain: 5.71

Avg Gain: 2.45

Avg Gain: 4.68

NFL Rank: 26

NFL Rank: 16

NFL Rank: 22

NFL Rank: 27

NFL Rank: 30

NFL Rank: 2

NFL Rank: 16

Passing Defense

Short Left	Short Middle	Short Right	Deep Left	Deep Middle	Deep Right




















Plays: 129	Plays: 104	Plays: 190	Plays: 28	Plays: 23	Plays: 34
NFL Rank: 21	NFL Rank: 13	NFL Rank: 4	NFL Rank: 21	NFL Rank: 15	NFL Rank: 17
Avg Gain: 5.19	Avg Gain: 5.46	Avg Gain: 5.02	Avg Gain: 14.00	Avg Gain: 11.35	Avg Gain: 9.97
NFL Rank: 6	NFL Rank: 5	NFL Rank: 6	NFL Rank: 26	NFL Rank: 11	NFL Rank: 15

Individual Stats

Interceptions	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
J.Beason	3	52	17.3	44	0
C.Gamble	3	23	7.7	19	0
K.Lucas	2	74	37.0	43	0
C.Godfrey	1	16	16.0	16	0
R.Marshall	1	11	11.0	11	0
N.Diggs	1	0	0.0	0	0

Punting	No	Yds	Avg	Net	TB	In	Lg	B
J.Baker	71	3169	44.6	37.7	5	29	63	3

Punt Returns	Ret	FC	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
M.Jones	38	20	440	11.6	55	0
N.Salley	1	0	0	0.0	0	0
D.Wesley	1	0	0	0.0	0	0

Kickoff Returns	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
M.Jones	35	846	24.2	59	0
J.Stewart	15	349	23.3	38	0
D.Rosario	2	26	13.0	18	0

Field Goals	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+
J.Kasay	0/ 0	6/ 6	8/ 8	9/ 9	1/ 3